A gruesome scene unfolded in the Riverdale section of the Bronx this morning when an elderly woman reportedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a 1 train as it pulled into the elevated station at 231st Street. It has not been officially confirmed whether she fell or jumped, but one witness tells The Daily News that the unidentified 74-year-old woman jumped onto the tracks at 9:34 a.m. "She dove into it. She didn't say anything," says one Erica Tuttle. The victim's body was stuck on the tracks for some time before emergency crews removed it, in full view of passers-by on the street below. more ›

These days it's just not enough to cough up $40K to ensure that little Sebastian Higgenbottom IV goes to all of his classes at Riverdale Country School or Dalton, or one of the city's other prestigious high schools. Now you need an equal amount of cash to make sure he actually learns things there. The Times reports that "prepping," which sounds awfully close to "studying really hard with a tutor," is costing parents of overachieving students up to $795 per 50 minutes, and as much as $35K for the entire year. Kids: just talk your parents into giving you $40K a year by dropping out. For those of you that don't have tutors, that's a savings of almost 50 percent! more ›

A family in Riverdale is engaged in a war with their co-op board, who want to evict them over their singing dog. Rita and Murray Hyman claim they are being unfairly persecuted because their daughter's Maltese pooch, Rocky, likes to sing with Rita, 62, when he comes to visit. Rita, who was left disabled after a 2003 car crash, doesn't want to give up the singing, because she considers Rocky her "therapy dog": "Rocky gives me a whole different outlook on life and keeps me going...They've hurt me so much by trying to take away our special relationship. Who will I sing with?" more ›

As a result of a 9-month-long joint investigation involving wiretaps on 28 telephone lines, video surveillance, and "buys" by undercover detectives, the NYPD has busted a massive heroin ring in the Fordham section of the Bronx. Known as "La Perla Organization," it dealt an estimated $40,000 a day worth of the drug at three street corners in the Bronx, and operated out of three mills in Riverdale and Pehlam Parkway. The Bronx DA says an "overwhelming" number of those arrested were members of the Latin Kings. more ›

On Sunday afternoon, the first tornado to touch down in the Bronx in 36 years did some serious damage in Riverdale. Yesterday the National Weather Service confirmed that the storm that brought down trees and power lines was in fact a tornado. Winds gusted around 100 miles per hour, and 7 people were injured. "I was never so scared in my life," Joan Kearney, 80, tells the Daily News. "I've never seen anything like this. I've almost lived on this street my whole life." And other residents tell NY1, "The rain was going around in a circle and all. Blasted through here; never saw so much rain coming down the hill here. It was just like a whole sheet of white water everywhere." (And in Riverdale Park, the rain completely rusted out a Parks Dept. tree trimmer's tin uniform.) more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] The storm that tore through the tri-state area yesterday afternoon hammered parts of the Bronx particularly hard, sending trees crashing into cars and houses and scattering participants in the Dominican Day parade. Tree branches smashed windows and tore down power lines, and this morning 348 Con Ed customers in the borough are without power. Although a tornado warning was issued at 3:40 p.m., John Murray of the National Weather Service says there was "no confirmed evidence" of a twister. But the locals know what they saw. more ›

A federal judge denied bail for four men accused of plotting to bomb Bronx synagogues and to shoot down military planes at a base in Newburgh, NY in May 2009. Last week Judge Colleen McMahon delayed the case indefinitely because of issues with the prosecution's case and said she'd listen to bail applications. However, yesterday she decided against allowing bail "because, she ruled, there was no assurance they would return for trial if freed." However, she also said in her ruling, "The government’s case may not be as ironclad as it appeared in the hours and days immediately after the defendants were arrested." The men's defense lawyers claim they were entrapped by an overzealous government informant. more ›

The trial of four men accused of plotting to bomb Bronx synagogues and shoot down military planes in Newburgh has been delayed indefinitely. Not only did federal Judge Colleen McMahon dismiss the jury, she also said she'd consider dismissing the indictment, "No guarantees, gentlemen. No guarantees. But I will listen to bail applications, given everything that has gone on." Why? Because the prosecution didn't turn over evidence months ago. more ›

A new study at the Riverdale Country School showed things like texting and Facebook were more like drugs than hobbies for many teenagers. After a study released by the University of Maryland showed that many college students actually showed signs of withdrawal, the school decided to implement a two-day experiment where students weren't allowed to text, IM, or go on Facebook. Somehow, they survived. more ›

A building can be the target of a hate crime, not just a person, or so ruled an appelate court in the case of man who threw Molotov Cocktails at a Bronx synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur. Thirty-year-old Palestinian-American Mazin Assi is currently serving 5 to 15 for the crime he committed in 2000, with three other men. His lawyer said he should have been convicted only of attempted arson, but a judge decided the stricter charges apply. "It is self-evident that, although the target of the defendant's criminal conduct was a building, the true victims were the individuals of Jewish faith who were members of the synagogue,'' Judge Victoria Graffeo wrote in a ruling that "broadens the hate crimes act," according to the New York Law Journal. more ›

According to papers filed by the defense lawyers, James Cromitie, the alleged mastermind behind May's Bronx synagogue terrorist plot, had been offered up to $250,000 by a government informant. The NY Times reports that the papers detailed how the informant, identified as Shaheed Hussain, encouraged Cromitie to identify targets and even recruit others on the terrorist mission. The defense lawyers want the trial thrown out under entrapment rules, claiming Cromitie wouldn't have attempted the bombing without Hussain's influence. more ›

The four men, arrested back in May for plotting to blow up Bronx synagogues and shoot planes at a National Guard base in Newburgh, NY, will be tried in June of next year. Lawyers for the four defendants had contended that the men were entrapped by the fed's informant, who promised/gave them money and fried chicken dinners, luring them into the plot. But the AP reports the judge "ruled that prosecutors don't have to disclose before trial any payments from a federal informant" to the defendants. more ›

Before Cablevision visited her Riverdale home, 79-year-old Elizabeth Bernd says she was active for her age. But when the cable guy arrived, the Daily News reports, he allegedly "unfastened preexisting wiring that had been fastened together underneath (her) computer desk/station," she tripped over the wires left loose, broke her leg, had a stroke and now is living in a nursing home. Bernd is suing for $5 million, accusing the cable company of negligence noting that she cannot "even talk or eat without great difficulty." more ›

Travel up to the northernmost neighborhoods of Manhattan these days and you might catch a whiff of more than just gentrification in the air—now skunks have invaded Inwood and Washington Heights as well! The area where the only skunk smell formerly found was from the weed sold along Dyckman Street is now crawling with the unwanted pests. The Parks Department's chief naturalist says, “It really seems like the population has gone from zero to many. I’m not sure why." more ›

With lots of attention being drawn lately to the overdose of Dash Snow and the strung-out gutter punks in Williamsburg, DEA agents are confirming just what you'd expect—cheaper, more potent heroin is majorly on the rise around the Big Apple. One addiction specialist at Flushing Hospital says he's seen the number of addicts there quadruple over the last decade. The News took a closer look inside the Bronx drug dens that were part of a massive bust over July 4th weekend, spots where each kilo of heroin is broken into 30,000 tiny glassine envelopes, many of which were stuffed into Build-a-Bears. The home base of leader Jeffrey Alba's operation was "a poisonous death mill” inside a non-descript residential building on Broadway in Riverdale, just across from the baseball diamond of Kelly Field. Authorities say that they hadn't encountered an operation of this scope since heroin's heyday in the '70s, but now these are no longer covering small territories around town. An agent tells the News, "This [Riverdale] group was like a corporation, supplying the whole metropolitan area, Long Island, New Jersey." more ›

The four men indicted on charges of a terrorist plot to blow up two Riverdale synagogues and shoot down military planes were arraigned today, pleading not guilty in a Westchester courtroom. Before the judge arrived, one of the defendants, Laguerre Payen, had to be removed from the court when his baggy pants fell down, exposing his boxer shorts. The Haitian-born Payen is a diagnosed schizophrenic, whose attorney said that he is illiterate and does not understand the charges against him. Payen told the judge, "I don't understand, like the stuff the courts talk about." A federal prosecutor said that Payen's behavior is an act, telling the court, "On April 28th, he is on a very clear recording talking about beating the case in a very sophisticated way. It's very different from the way he's talking now in an effort to mislead the court." The four men face life in prison if they are convicted of the eight-count indictment. more ›

Though a plot to bomb two synagogues in the Riverdale section of the Bronx was foiled by federal and city authorities, concerns remained about the safety of the Jewish Center and Riverdale Temple. Yesterday, Governor Paterson and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced that the two institutions would receive $25,000 in federal money for security. Paterson said, "We will make sure that these two institutions as well as all others in the state of New York are protected," while Gillibrand "noted that the Urban Areas Security Initiative, a homeland security grant program, provided money to organizations at a high risk of a terrorist attack, but that fewer than half of eligible applicants received financing this year." Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt of the Riverdale Jewish Center told the Daily News, "The children of [the suspected terror plotters] will also be welcome in this house of God. I want them to know that we will fight for them and for their future, because in their future is the true ticket to our real safety." more ›

Three of the four men who were arrested for allegedly plotting to plant bomb outside two Bronx synagogues and shoot planes at a National Guard base in Newburgh, NY were charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the United States and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles. James Cromitie, 55; David Williams, 28; and Onta Williams, 32 appeared in court and were held without bail; assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Snyder said, "It's hard to envisage a more chilling plot to bring murder to a ...community... These are extremely violent men. These people who are eager to bring death to Jews." more ›

The body of a blind man was found at the bottom of a Bronx apartment building's elevator shaft last night. Sheldon Scott had left his 3rd-floor apartment after a fight with his wife, the Daily News reports, and when he didn't return for hours, his wife reported him missing. According to CityRoom, that there have been four elevator-related violations at the Riverdale building on Knolls Crescent, "all addressing the same issue: removing wood from the base of a motor room door...Investigators were trying Friday to learn what led to his death, and whether the elevators doors opened when they should not have or if something else occurred, the police said." more ›

Police have arrested a plumber for shooting an arrow that ultimately pierced the stomach of a woman dropping off her friends at a nursing home in Riverdale. The Daily News reports that police had been questioning area residents when they came across Eric Collins, 27. A source said though the cops were just asking routine questions, "He was acting a little squirrely. He was sweating and shaking. It was clear he knew more than he claimed." more ›

A 51-year-old who was dropping off two friends at a Bronx nursing home when she was shot in the stomach by an arrow. On a quiet Riverdale street, Denise Delgado-Brown collapsed and told her friends, "They shot me with an arrow!" more ›

Mayor Bloomberg is turning his attention to constituents in areas that have a history of being sweet on him in hopes of reigniting the flame as he heads into his newly found reelection year. The Post thinks that catering to areas that strongly supported him in the last election might be the motivation behind some recent moves to provide transit-related relief around town. The paper points out that Staten Island, a Bloomberg stronghold, would be one of the areas benefited most by his successful push to lower the fare hike for express bus riders. Another neighborhood that heavily relies on those buses is Riverdale, one of the few Bronx neighborhoods he won while running against Fernando Ferrer in 2005. The city has just placated many of its residents by cutting in half the number of alternate side parking days they have to deal with due to street cleaning. Supposedly up next to receive similar reductions of both regulation and its accompanying frustration for local drivers are other Bloomberg-friendly neighborhoods such as Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene and Boerum Hill. Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause, New York told the Post, "He needs to be sure people aren't angry at city government in this current economic climate with an election upcoming. He doesn't want to tick people off." more ›